Add Center for Writing as a resource in fall syllabi

After a record-breaking year, the Center for Writing will open for 2004-05 on Friday, Sept. 17. Consultants are available on an appointment basis prior to that date. Call us at (651) 962-5601 or e-mail the center. The center is located in Room 361, John R. Roach Center for the Liberal Arts.

The peer consultants at the Center for Writing provide one-to-one writing assistance for any course for undergraduate and graduate students. Our mission is to help students read and think critically; through writing, we encourage them to probe deeply into the issues presented in their coursework.

As you prepare your syllabi for the fall semester, please consider including a statement about the Center for Writing. Something like the following might indicate to your students your support of what we do, which is the single most important motivator for students to come and see us.

“The Center for Writing provides one-to-one conferences for you as you write. You might go to the center to work with a peer consultant when you get an assignment. You can then talk over what the assignment is asking and how you’re interpreting the reading on which it’s based. You might go to the center when you’re starting to write a draft to talk about your focus or organization. Or you might go in at the later stages of your writing when you’re revising for clear sentences and best word choice, or checking your grammar and punctuation. The center’s consultants will work with you at any stage of the writing process so that you develop strong, long-term approaches to your reading, writing and critical thinking.”

Here are the Center for Writing’s hours:

9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday

9 a.m. – noon Friday

6-9 p.m. Sunday in Room 102, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center

If you’re interested in incorporating the center more directly into your assignments, please let me know. In general, it’s best to talk about us early in the semester and then again as you hand out your assignments. Request drafts from your students and then encourage – but don’t require – visits to the center.

We also provide referrals to other local resources for students and faculty:

Professional editing services for more lengthy projects such as dissertations or manuscripts for publication

Intensive professional tutoring services for issues beyond the scope of our consultants

Support for ESL students

Assistance with public speaking

Courses on grammar and punctuation

Learning to use technology (PowerPoint, Web design, etc.)

Please check our Web site for more descriptions about our work, to access information on writing and research (“Resources for Writers”), or to make an appointment (“Ask a Consultant”).

If you have questions or if you would like some brochures to give to your students, please call me at (651) 962-5601 or send us an e-mail.